The invention relates generally to the field of telephony and specifically to the field of telephony in conjunction with on-line access.
Many computer users connect to outside data services through a dial-up type connection. As known in the field, this connection typically uses a MODEM to convert digital computer signals to analog signals for transmission over the public switch telephone network (PSTN). For many users, the PSTN connection used for their outside data services is the same connection used for traditional analog voice telephone services, and when connected to the outside data service, the telephone line associated with their telephone number is busy. When these users are concerned about missing an important call, they may restrict usage of the data service by family members to xe2x80x9clatexe2x80x9d hours when no calls are expected.
In the field of voice telephony, many optional services are provided such as call waiting and call forwarding to accommodate the subscriber. Because of differences in protocols and procedures, these services may be unavailable when the user is connected to the outside data service. Various methods and systems are proposed to improve telephony service for users when they are on-line. U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,587 (the ""587 patent) to Norris et al., the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes one such method and system used by a subscriber when on-line.
The system and method described in the ""587 patent does not allow the subscriber to set a particular state while on-line. In particular, the ""587 patent does not provide for an available-for-incoming-calls state and a not-available-for-incoming-calls state. In addition, the ""587 patent does not provide a call-back list for storage of information or particulars of calls that are received while on-line to address the concern of missing important calls while working on-line undisturbed or while other family members work on-line. There is a need to provide these and other options for subscribers when on-line.
An objective of the invention is to provide a method and system for processing a telephone call where a subscriber telephone connection is busy as a result of an on-line connection and the subscriber does not wish to be disturbed while on-line, and therefore sets a not-available-for-incoming-calls state.
It is also an objective of the invention, in response to the not-available-for-incoming-calls state, when the system receives a call that is directed to the subscriber at a called station from a calling station, the system determines that the called station is connected to a server by an on-line data connection. The system sends an alerting message to the called station over the data connection to inform the called station of the incoming call, and the system stores particulars of the call and particulars of the calling station in a call-back list. The particulars of the call include date and time of the call, as well as the length of any message left by the calling station. The particulars of the calling station include the telephone number and caller identification of the calling station. A data terminal at the called station displays an icon when the alerting message is received, to inform the on-line subscriber of the incoming call and the fact that particulars were stored in the call-back list. The subscriber may return a call to the calling station while on-line using Internet telephony, or may use other techniques such as a TAPI interface. The subscriber may also access and retrieve messages from the calling station that were stored in the voice-mail server.